Health Department reports error in asbestos study

(Host)
The state Health Department says it made an error in a recent report that
pointed to higher cancer rates in towns surrounding an old asbestos mine in
northern Vermont. But it says the study still shows higher rates of
another asbestos-related disease.

The
department said it re-examined the data used in the study. And it's no longer
saying that people living near the mine had a higher rate of lung cancer.

Health
Commissioner Doctor Wendy Davis says the error occurred because researchers
mistakenly included the city of Newport in the data. She said the researchers should have
excluded Newport City from the communities that are within a 10 mile radius
of the mine.

(Wendy Davis) "And what happened was
there were some lung cancer cases in NewportCity that
contributed to our conclusion that was an elevated rate of lung cancer in these
towns within the 10 mile radius of the mine. And in fact when you take those NewportCity cases out,
that apparent increase does not hold up."

(Host)
The state is concerned about the mine because huge piles of waste asbestos
remain at the site. Asbestos exposure has been linked to lung cancer, and also
to the lung disease asbestosis.

Davis says the data does show a higher rate of asbestosis disease
and death in the region. And she says the warning from health officials remains
the same.

(Davis) "It doesn't significantly
change on our broader messages about the fact that if folks want to take steps
now the thing that probably makes the most sense is not to spend time on the
mine site, to not undertake recreational activities on the mine site."

(Host)
The mine in Lowell and Eden may eventually become a Superfund site administered
by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.